Program Analyst

About the role

This position is located in the Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E) Service, Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), Department of Veterans Affairs.

The incumbent serves as a Program Analyst within the Systems Management & Analysis Division & is responsible for leading the planning, coordination, automation, & deployment readiness activities supporting the VR&E Information Technology Portfolio, including enterprise case management capabilities & supporting information technology solutions.

What you will do

• Lead release, configuration, and deployment management activities for the VR&E IT portfolio within a DevSecOps framework.
• Plan, coordinate, and oversee secure, automated software releases using CI/CD pipelines and modern deployment patterns.
• Maintain integrated release schedules and coordinate activities across business stakeholders, OIT, cybersecurity, contractors, and governance bodies.
• Facilitate release planning ceremonies, readiness reviews, go/no-go decisions, and post-implementation assessments using DevSecOps performance metrics.
• Manage configuration governance through CCB/CAB meetings and maintain CM processes and tools to ensure alignment with approved baselines.
• Assess proposed changes for operational and security impacts and guide release sequencing to minimize risks.
• Lead deployment readiness activities, including plans, rollback procedures, validation steps, communications, and automated verification.
• Develop and execute comprehensive testing strategies, including automated functional, security, performance, and UAT testing within CI/CD workflows.
• Coordinate compliance, cybersecurity, and ATO-related documentation, ensuring releases align with VA, federal, and NIST requirements.
• Provide executive leadership with release dashboards, risk analyses, performance metrics, stakeholder updates, and recommendations to improve DevSecOps operations and IT portfolio governance.
• Promotion Potential: This position is at the full performance level.
• Work Schedule: Full time, Monday through Friday Compressed/Flexible: Not Available Telework: Available, This position is eligible for situational (ad hoc) telework only.
• The selectee is required to report to the official duty station each scheduled workday.
• Telework may be approved only on a case-by-case basis with supervisory approval.
• Routine or recurring telework is not authorized for this position.
• Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
• Position Description/PD#: Program Analyst; 422920 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

• As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest.
• In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.
• Upon completion of your probationary period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.
• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 You may be required to serve a probationary period Subject to background/security investigation Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.
• Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements I-9 Acceptable Documents.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position.

You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics): Data Management - Knowledge of the principles, methods, and techniques for establishing internal control activities (for example, authorizations, verifications, reconciliations), monitoring their use, and evaluating their performance (for example, identification of material weaknesses or significant deficiencies).

Internal Controls -Assures that effective internal controls are developed and maintained to ensure the integrity of the organization.

Requirements Analysis -Knowledge of the principles and methods to identify, analyze, specify, design, and manage functional and infrastructure requirements; includes translating functional requirements into technical requirements used for logical design or presenting alternative technologies or approaches.

Enterprise Architecture -Knowledge of principles, concepts, and methods of enterprise architecture to align information technology (IT) strategy, plans, and systems with the mission, goals, structure, and processes of the organization.

Performance Measurement - Knowledge of the principles and methods for evaluating program or organizational performance using financial and non-financial measures, including identification of evaluation factors (for example, workload, personnel requirements), metrics, and outcomes.

Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

Documents you must provide

• To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package to include the documents detailed below.
• Resumes may not exceed two pages and must be legible for review of eligibility, minimum qualifications and other position requirements listed in the job announcement.
• Your resume and supporting documentation will be verified.
• Failure to submit the documents as specified may result in loss of consideration for this job announcement.
• Resume: Contact Information: Name and how best to contact you, including email address and phone number Relevant Work Experience: For each relevant work experience, make sure you include: Job Title and Employer (including series and grade for any Federal positions) Start and end dates with month/year (e.g., 05/2019 - 08/2022) The number of hours you worked per week Ensure work experience descriptions are aligned with the job announcement and address all required qualifications.
• Brief descriptions should demonstrate your ability to perform the tasks at the required level as stated in the job announcement Optional Details: When relevant, include: Current Security Clearance Job-related training Language skills Organizations and affiliations Professional publications Eligibility for special programs (e.g., military spouses, individuals with disabilities, etc.) A copy of your most recent NON-award SF-50.
• The SF-50 must indicate proof of status and should identify your position title, series, grade, step, salary, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted).
• Your SF-50 reflecting when you entered your highest grade To verify you meet Time-in-Grade requirements, also submit a SF-50 reflecting when you entered your highest grade held (e.g. Promotion, Appointment, etc.).
• Current VBA Employees seeking a reassignment/change to lower grade: you must submit a copy of your most recent SF-50 (non-award) AND the SF-50 placing you into your current position.
• An SF-50 showing your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials.
• If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement.
• In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade.
• NOTE: Award and General Adjustment SF-50's do not provide sufficient information will not be accepted for the purpose of verifying time in grade.
• Recommended SF-50's include Within Grade Increases (WGI), Promotions and Appointments.
• Additional Documents accepted: Most recent Performance Appraisal (VA Form 0750) Award SF-50s CTAP documentation - RIF notice, SF-50 showing VA employee, and performance appraisal Please use this checklist to make sure you have included all documents required for your application.
• You will not be contacted for additional information.

What to expect next

To update your application, including supporting documentation: During the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account, find your application record, and click Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed. Once your online application is submitted you will receive a confirmation notification by email.

After we receive application packages (including all required documents) and the vacancy announcement closes, we will review applications to ensure qualification and eligibility requirements are met. After the review is complete, a referral certificate(s) is issued and applicants will be notified of their status by email.

Referred applicants will be notified as such and may be contacted directly by the hiring office for an interview. All referred applicants receive a final notification once a selection decision has been made. To view the announcement status or your application status: Visit ***

Your application status page is where you can view your application status, USA Hire assessment completion status, and review your notifications sent by the hiring agency regarding your application.

Additional information

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer (TJO). Please visit the Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP), va.gov/EMPLOYEE/docs/The-Fair-Chance-to-Compete-Act.pdf for more information.

The Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies.

To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified (have a final rating of 85 or more) for this vacancy.

Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at *** Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion.

The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.